Flexible coasting sled



June 25, 1935. A. J. SCHOLTES FLEXIBLE COASTING SLED Filed June 20, 19342 Sheets-Sheet 1' fllbertcfflcholfes,

W/JMMM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A. J. SCHOLTES FLEXIBLE COASTING SLED Filed June20, 1934 Mam/MA o e m 0 fllberf aschoztes,

June

Patented June 25, 1 935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

The present invention relates to sleds and similar vehicles usingrunners for gliding over ice, snow and the like, andhas for an object toprovide an improved construction for guiding the sled which embodiesmeans for flexing the run ners throughout their entire lengths.

Another object is to provide the sled with guiding handles, for thehands or feet depending upon the sitting or lying position of the rider,which are relatively close together and set into the sides of the sledand behind a bumper to protect the hands and feet of the rider, and toprovide a guiding mechanism controlled by the handles which requires butlittle energy expenditure for operation so that the steering mechanismof the sled is responsive under slight pressure on the handles.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sled of this type witha. novel construction of runner the surface contacting edge of which isbifurcated 01' divided so as to present a pair of spaced apart cuttingedges with the edges offset to opposite sides of the medial plane of therunner so that the runner will automatically seek to stabilize itself bysupporting the runner with both of the cutting edges on the surface.Furthermore, this type of runner admits of easy sharpening of thecutting edges and at the same time provides an interposed channel orgroove in the bottom of the runner within which ice and snow may rise toform virtually a trackway for better holding the runner from sideslipping.

Another feature of the present invention is to embody the aboveenumerated improvements in 35 a construction which follows the generalconventional lines of .sleds of this character.

, With the foregoing and other objects in View,

the invention will be more fully described here- M inafter, and will bemore particularly pointed out in theclaims appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or correspondingparts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is atop plan view of a flexible coasting sled embodying thefeatures of the present invention.

, Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the same.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary enlarged longitudinal section taken verticallyand. centrally on the 50 line 33 of-1Figure 1 through. the forward endportion of the sled. v Figure 4 is atransverse section taken through thehandle bar of the sl'edonthe line 4-4 of Figure l. 55 Figure 5 is asimilar view taken through the rear end portion of the sled on the line5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of the sled showing the runners flexed tochange the direction of movement of the sled, and v Figure 7 is a detailfragmentary view taken substantially on the line l-'| of Figure 2showing on an enlarged scale the bracket connection between the rear endof one runner and the sled body.

Referring now to the drawings the invention is shown by way ofillustration as applied to; a flexible coasting sled wherein a topplatform or body part I0 is of the usual slat construction with theslats secured in their relative positions upon cross pieces H, I2 andI3. The cross pieces H,

I 2 and I3 may extend beyond the sidesof the platform I!) and arerecessed, as shown particularly in Figure 5, for accommodating siderails or hand hold H! in the usual manner. At the forward ends of theside rails 14 are provided a pair of inwardly arched or bowed. arms I5which extend in a general forward direction and are connected at theirforward ends by rivets, l6 or the like to the opposite end portions of abumper or front rail H. The front rail I1 is preferably curved or ofarcuate form with the ends extending backwardly, and the ends of therails ll preferably project beyond the rivets l6 and have l9 in thedirection in which the bar I! is shifted.

To shift the bar H the same is provided with a forward lever 20 pivotedat 2|, by means of a pin, bolt or the like as shown to the intermediateportion of the bar ll. The forward lever 20 extends rearwardly andcentrally of the sled and at its intermediate portion is moimted on apivot 22 which is carried by a slat projection 23 of the platform I 0.This projecting portion 23 of the platform is preferably reinforced bytop and bottom plates 24' which are riveted or otherwise suitablysecured against the upper and lower sides of. the projection and whichare suitably apertured forreceiving thev pivot pin 22 therethrough. Thelever 20 extends rearwardly beneath the projection 23 and secured acrossthe lever 20 rearwardly of the pivot 22 is a handle bar 25 which may beof sheet metal of the desired width and thickness and which is archeddownwardly at its intermediate portion, as shown in Figure 4, to engagethe lever 20. The opposite end portions of the handle bar 25 are offsetupwardly into substantially the plane of the platform In and extendsoutwardly at opposite ends toward the sides of the sled and carrieshandles 26 which are secured upon the upper sides of the ends of thehandle bar. These handles 25 are of any suitable shape or configurationto conveniently receive the hands in grasping the handle bar to secure afirm hold on the same.

V handles 26 are undercut or recessed at their inner lower sides asshown at 21 to provide guideways for the inwardly arched or curved armsI 5. The, arms l5 thus hold the handle bar from being twisted or bentdownwardly at either end, and the recesses 21 are of sufficient depth toadmit ofthe free swinging of the handle bar on its pivot 22, through thelever 2i) into various positions for controlling the steering of thesled. The handle bar 25 is rigidly fixed to the lever 20 by two or morerivets 28, as shown, so that when the handle bar is swung about itspivot the lever 20 maintains its angular relation with respect to thehandle bar so .that the lever 23 itself is swung on the pivot 22 andshifts the bumper ll either to the right or left. The runners I!) extendrearwardly in normal parallel. relation beneath the platform l near theopposite "sides thereof and preferably in line beneath the side railsl4.

Each runner I9 is connected at spaced points by brackets .29, 30 and 3!either directly or indirectly to the body portion of the sled. The crosspiece ll beneath the forward portion of the sled is directly connectedto the forward brackets 29 such. as by bolts 32, rivets or the likewhich extend through suitably slotted .the necessary movementof therunners. l9 when The intermediate brackets 30 are riveted or otherwisesecured to the runner 29 and are interconnected across the under sideofthe sled body by a bar 33 which slidably fits against the under sideof the intermediate cross piece l2, as shown in Figure 5, so that thebrackets 30 with. their connecting bar 33 and the intermediateportionsof the runners may freely shiftfrom side to side beneath the sled body.The rear brackets 3| are secured directly to the rear cross piece I 3 bybolts 34 or thelike, the brackets. 31 being suitably slot ted to admitof the turning, of the brackets with the runners when the latter areflxed, as shown in Figure 6. Both of the pairs of brackets 29 "and 3|are pivoted to the body part or frame ID of the sled as shownrespectively by the pivots '32"and 34'. As the flexingor bowing oftherun- .ners l9 between the pivots 32' and 34' requires a shortening ofthe distance between said pivots, the brackets'29 have slots 32" for thepivots 32 the slots 32'exten dinglengthwise of the runners l9 to admitshifting of the brackets 29-as the jrunners 19 are flexed. There is thusa floating or differential movement of the brackets 29 dur- .ing theflexing of the runners so that the latter may assume continuous curvesorarcs'of different radii without binding or undue strain on .any of thepivots or brackets during the steering movements.

The other suitable slot andboltor pin'arrang'e- What is claimed is:

35 is used. The lever 35 is secured by a pivot 36 to the intermediateportion of the cross bar 33 and the intermediate part of the. rear,lever 35 is mounted on a pivot 31 which projects downwardly fromtheplatform l0 and maybe supneath the platform. An intermediateconnecting lever 39.. is. pivoted intermediate its ends on a pivot 40disposed at the under side of the platform I0 and spaced therefrom by across piece 4| which maybe relatively short as shown in Figure 2.

The forward end of the lever '39 is connected by a pivot 42 to the rearend of the front flexing lever 20, and at itsreanendis connected by apivot 43 to the forward endof the rear flexing lever 35. 'I he mainlever 39 has longitudinal slots 42 and 43' for the free play of theirrespective pivots 42 and 43 duringthe swinging ofthe levers, and therear flexing lever 35 has an intermediate longitudinal slot 31 for theshifting of the lever 35 when swung. The forward flexing lever20 has atits forward end a longitudinal slot 2| to prevent binding between thelever 20 and the bumper .bar I I and the other parts connected thereto.p r

This intermediate lever 39 acts to transmit motion of the forwardflexing lever 20 in one direction to the rear flexing lever 35 in theopposite direction so that the runners #9 are flexed throughout theirentire lengths uniformly and evenly with the curvatures substantiallyconcentric and continuously in one direction. As the arms l at theforward end of the platform I0 are curved inwardly, ample space isprovided within the marginal sides of the sled for the reception of thehands and feet in grasping the ends'of the handle bar, and the handlebar is located rear wardly of the bumper or front bar I! so that thehands and feet are protected against contact with objects encounteredduring travel of the j sled. The outer extremities of the handles 25 maybe provided with rope receiving openings 44 adapted to be used foreitherdrawing thev sled and guiding it, or for controlling the steeringof the From the above description it will be noted that 4 it isimportant to flex or curve the runners from end to end and uniformly in.continuous arcs so 'that. all parts of the runners will follow or trackin a true curved path. This will offset or prevent any frictional dragof the runners against the supporting surface and can only be obtainedwhere the fiexing is equal and constantthroughout the. entirelengths ofthe runners' 1. A flexible coasting sled, comprising .a body ported by aspacer or cross piece 38 secured beportion, a pair of flexible runnersmounted be- 7 neath the bodyv portion, frontand rear flexing leversconnected to the front andfrear portions of the runners, aconnecting'lever pivoted on the body portion and connected to said frontand rear flexing levers for actuatingthe same in opportion, a pair ofrunners disposed beneath the body portion, movable connecting meansbetween the body portion and the runners to admit of the flexing of therunners beneath the body portion, a front flexing lever connected to theforward ends of the runners, a rear flexing lever connected to therunners intermediate their ends, an intermediate lever connecting saidforward and rear flexing levers, and a handle bar extending across theforward portion of the platform and connected to one of said levers formovement therewith to swing the levers when pressure is exerted on thehandle bar to move the same.

3. A flexible coasting sled, comprising a sled body, a pair of runners,brackets spaced along said runners, movable connections between thebrackets and the sled body for admitting flexing of the runners beneaththe sled body, a bolster secured in fixed position across theintermediate portion of the sled body, a cross bar between anintermediate pair of said brackets for interconnecting the same beneaththe sled body and slidably mounted on said bolster, a system of leversdisposed between the forward ends of the runners and said cross bar andoperable thereon in opposite directions, and operating means connectedto the system of levers for swinging the same to flex the runners atspaced points in their lengths.

4. A flexible coasting sled, comprising a sled body, a pair of runnersfor the sled body, pairs of brackets carried by the runners, means forpivotally and movably connecting the brackets to the sled body, a crossbar interconnecting the forward ends ofthe runners, a second cross barinterconnecting the runners near their rear ends, a system of leversdisposed between the cross bars for moving the same relatively inopposite directions, and means for swinging said levers to move saidcross bar and flex the runners at spaced points in opposite directions.

5. A flexible coasting sled, comprising a sled body, runners mounted forflexing beneath the body, a bumper bar interconnecting the forward endsof the runners, a pair of inwardly arched arms disposed between theforward ends of the runners and the sled body, a handle bar extendingacross said inwardly arched arms at the forward end of the sled body,and a lever pivoted at one end to the bumper bar and fixedly pivoted atan intermediate point to the sled body ad,- jacent the handle bar, saidhandle bar fixed upon said lever to move as a unit therewith forswinging the lever on its pivot when the handle bar is moved.

6. A flexible coasting sled comprising a sled body, a pair of laterallyflexible runners mounted beneath the sled body, said runners havinggrooved lower edge portions providing spaced apart cutting edges forcontact with the icy surface to stabilize the runners, at cross memberinterconnecting the forward ends of the runners and movableindependently of the sled body, a second cross member interconnectingthe intermediate portions of the runners, and a steering mechanismconnected to said cross pieces for moving the same transversely inopposite directions for flexing the runners simultaneously insubstantially concentric and continuous arcs.

7. A flexible coasting sled comprising a sled body, a pair of flexiblerunners mounted beneath the sled body, cross members interconnectingspaced portions of the runners, a lever for each cross member pivotallyconnected at one end thereto and pivoted intermediately on the sledbody, a reversing lever pivotally mounted on the sled body andinterconnecting the opposite ends of said first levers, and a handle barfixed across one of said levers for operation to swing the same andswing all of the levers to flex the runners,

8. A flexible coasting sled, comprising a platform, a pair of runners,pivotal connections spaced apart lengthwise of the runners between thelatter and the platform for supporting the runners beneath the platform,a handle bar mounted across the platform, and runner flexing meansconnected to the handle bar and to the runners at points spacedlengthwise thereof from said pivotal connections and operable inopposite directions for laterally shifting the runners at said pointsout of their normal straight line positions and turning said pivotalconnections to arch the runners throughout their lengths when the handlebar is operated.

9. A flexible coasting sled comprising a sled body, a pair of bracketsdisposed adjacent the rear end of the body, a second pair of bracketsdisposed forwardly thereof, a pair of runners secured to therespectively adjacent brackets extending forwardly of the secondbrackets and having laterally movable front ends, a cross bar connectingsaid second brackets and slidable transversely of the body, and meansoperable to positively move the cross bar in one direction and the frontends of the runners in the opposite direction including a handle bar andmeans extending from the cross bar, interconnected with the handle barand pivoted to the body between the cross bar and the front end of thesled.

ALBERT J. SCI-IOLTES.

